By Mike Tarrolly — Co-host of the Crushing Iron Podcast
Rickey Henderson died at 65 yesterday and it was a little punch to my gut. He is still the best base stealer in MLB history and probably one of my top 10 favorite players.
Here’s the short speech he made after breaking Lou Brock’s stolen base record. “Today, I’m the greatest of all time.”
His death reminds me of two things:
- Even the greatest athletes have fun on the field
- Life is short
My “Interaction” With Rickey Henderson
Oakland was in town to play the Brewers and we had left field bleacher seats, which were within earshot of the great Rickey Henderson. He was pretty cocky and liked to interact with the fans and I’ll never forget how amazed I was that he was knee deep in a major league baseball game but seemed more interested in us fans.
It was all in fun, but he would look up and point to the scoreboard or whatever and that day the fans were giving it back to him. People around us where screaming, “Your white shoes are ugly” and laughing. He’d kind of look around and kneel down to give them a fake shoe shine.
This went on for a few innings and finally someone started yelling, “Rickey, you suck!”
Henderson kind of half-assed glanced up. Then back at the batter for the pitch. Then back at us, etc.
Finally, Rickey put his glove up in front of his face, then lifted his other hand inside the leather and casually flipped us the bird.
I thought it was the coolest thing ever. A few minutes later he drifted under and caught a fly ball before looking back and smiling as he ran into the dugout.
We can talk about intensity and focus all we want, but I will always believe that the greatest athletes are the most confident and relaxed.
Nothing Like a Great Reminder
My image of Rickey Henderson is one of strength, speed and health. A world class athlete that almost seemed invincible. He was just 4 years older than me, but now he’s gone. Just another reminder to live each day.
If you’re like me, you have a lot of goals you’d like to accomplish in life. Maybe it’s travel certain places, write a book, or “get in the best shape of your life.” Well, I’m here to remind you that today is a great day to start.
I didn’t know Rickey, but I know more and more people who are getting sick and losing their health in a hurry. This is the one thing that pains me most as I get older. Watching friends or family members struggle to do the simplest things in life.
And it reminds me that this is why we fight through workouts when it’s the last thing we want to do.
This reality is burned into my mind.
Yes, it sucks to feel a little sore in the morning, but what am I going to do to make that go away for another day? How can I get some momentum going and take my body to a higher place?
I don’t wallow in suffering or the little aches and pains, I am progressive in my attempts to make them go away. We must resist getting weak at all costs. All too often I see friends who can barely walk because they sit too much and now can’t hold their bodyweight.
I saw it with my dad. For the last 6 weeks of his life he laid in a hospice bed and never got up. We took care of his needs, but it didn’t have to be that way.
It started with him never walking on the golf course. Always in a cart and slowly but surely he lost his ability to walk. Sure, he wasn’t feeling great much of the time, but I do think the fact that he wasn’t moving was a huge reason.
The minute we give in, we’re toast. We have to keep moving.
A lot of people get trapped in fantasy of being someone they see on Instagram or YouTube and is ultimately why they give up. We have to be ourselves and find our own sweet spots. For me, that can be SUP boarding instead of swimming. Hiking instead of biking. Walking instead of running.
I still swim, bike and run, but I let it come to me when my body says its ready. I don’t force a zero to sixty kind of day, I’ll go from zero to twenty, then maybe push it up to sixty later in the day.
I’m very passionate about this because I’ve seen the pattern with dozens of athletes. They can’t hold up the the imaginary image they have of themselves, so they just throw in the towel. These athletes are in their 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s. One day they just vanish from Training Peaks because triathlon overwhelms them.
But, we have to keep doing things. I don’t care if it’s walking or playing pickle ball. Please keep adding movement to your days. Trust me, I know it’s hard, but doing something manageable today is enough.